Holiday preparations are in full swing, and no one wants to be on the “bad” list this time of year. When it comes to our legal climate, however, Louisiana has managed just that, even after significant attempts at legal reform this year.
The American Tort Reform Association recently released its list of the worst civil justice climates in the country and Louisiana remains a fixture. The state has continued its losing streak with a 15th appearance on the infamous Judicial Hellholes list, coming in at No. 10.
Report highlights include:
• Increase in “nuclear verdicts,” exorbitant jury awards typically in excess of $10 million. Louisiana ranks eighth nationally for these massive personal injury and wrongful death awards.
• No resolution to the coastal lawsuits saga, threatening billions in damages that target the state’s job-creating energy industry, while failing to provide any actual help for coastal restoration despite a 2022 “landmark settlement” in the bellwether Freeport McMoRan case.